In 2016, of the top 100 American newspapers, only two published an editorial in support of Donald Trump, who won.
The Boston Herald, which traditionally championed Republicans, was one that shunned. And in this election year for Congress, he decided to go further, announcing in an editorial that from now on he will no longer endorse anyone.
Under the heading “Herald supports the people, not the politicians”, it says: “Along with other newspapers [do fundo Alden Global]we will no longer endorse the presidential race and the increasingly nationalized race for governor and Senate.”
Among the reasons, today “everyone has an opinion, but no one wants to hear the other side”, and “with misinformation on the rise, readers are confused about the differences between news and opinion pieces”.
Called “the vulture” for the cuts it makes, Alden Global has acquired 200 regional titles over the past decade, including the Chicago Tribune, NY Daily News, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel, forming the second American chain.
The movement began months earlier at the largest chain, Gannett, with 250 newspapers, including USA Today. As the Washington Post reported, she went on to “radically shrink” the space for opinion, “even electoral endorsements.”
The rationale, according to a report by the group’s editors: “Readers don’t want us to tell them what to think. They don’t believe we have the knowledge to tell anyone what to think. They see us as biased.”
Even before, in 2020, the McClatchy network, of the Miami Herald, and still independent titles like Dallas Morning News made decisions in this direction. And academic research has just shown that journalists themselves don’t want it anymore.
Nobody knows the difference” between editorial and news, said one. “Every four years, we shoot ourselves in the foot.”
END OF ERA
In the American media, the traditional “talk shows”, which were born with the TV itself, are also under threat, both on weeknights, with a lighter opinion, and on Sunday mornings, with politics. There are changes afoot on the NBC, CBS and ABC networks and on the Comedy Central and Fox News channels.
TV critic Bill Carter, now at CNN, credits the end of this “golden age” to the gradual shift from linear TV to streaming, where the genre didn’t do so well.
DEEP INTO THE FOREST
In the Washington Post, above, a months-long report by correspondent Terrence McCoy details the murder of journalist Dom Phillips, “my friend”, and indigenist Bruno Pereira.
After “reviewing official reports, interviewing dozens and traveling along the Itaquaí River”, he concluded that “government negligence” provided the conditions for the crime.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
